Centrifugal spray device



United States Patent 9 2,917,241 CENTRIFUGAL SPRAY DEVICE John E. Waldrum, Ambler, Pa., assignor to Amchem Products, Inc., Ambler, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application June 23, 1958, Serial No. 743,608 4 Claims. or. 239-214 This invention relates; to a spray device which is capable of spraying thin or viscous liquids, which is light in weight and which is especially adapted for use on either rotary or fixed wing aircraft as anaerial applicator of plant. growth regulants, herbicides, insecticides, and other agricultural preparations.

An important object of the invention is to provide a spray device of the character described which, employs a disk assemblyfor receiving and then discharging fluid, said assembly including a yieldable means whereby said assembly remains closed when it. is at arrest and opens to discharge fluid in response to hydrostatic fluid. pressure in the assembly when the latter rotates. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which opens in such a manner that the downdraft from the rotating wing of the aircraft forces the liquid quickly to the ground in a well defined pattern.

A further object of the invention isto. providea device of the character described in whichthe; disk assembly employs a. plurality of nozzles in the-form of small, cylinders through which the liquid is discharged, the emergent liquid being cut in drop size particles by means of the passing air stream of the aircraft. By varying lengths of the nozzles, a varying spray pattern can be obtained.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent as the following description proceeds in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is an elevational view of the device with parts being broken away to show internal construction in section;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view through a nozzle and a portion of the periphery of the disk assembly, the latter being shown in a closed position;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the disk assembly in an open or spraying position; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 of a modified form of the invention.

Specific reference is now made to the drawing wherein similar reference characters are used for corresponding elements throughout.

The basic feature of the invention is the disk assembly which is generally shown at 10. Figure 1 illustrates one of a number of means for operatively connecting said disk assembly to a means to supply fluid to the disk assembly and a means to rotate the latter. The means for admitting fluid into the disk assembly may simply be a tube 12, preferably vertically disposed, and fluid may be delivered to the tube 12 either by gravity or forced feed as indicated by the arrow at the top of Figure l. The lower end of the tube 12 is fixed to the upper plate 14 of the disk assembly 10, to be described more in detail hereinafter, by any suitable connector 16, the connector surrounding a fluid inlet orifice 18 in the upper plate 14.

The tube 12 is rotatable in a suitable fixed bearing 20 and the periphery of the connector 16 is provided with an appropriate toothed gear 22. A motor 24 is provided I which is. attached by a suitable bracket 26 to thefixed hearing 20, the shaft of the motor carrying a small toothed gear 28 which meshes with the larger gear 22.

The disk assembly comprises the upper plate 14v and a lower plate 30. The upper plate'14 comprises a major wall 32 and a depending peripheral wall 34. The lower plate 30 comprises a ma or wall 36 whose peripheral edge 38 normally abuts the inner surface of the peripheral wall 34, of the upper plate when the disk assembly is closed thereby defimning an inner fluid receiving chamber 40. Adjacent said peripheral edge 38. of the lower plate. 30 there, is an upstanding peripheral flange. 42 serving as a ledge. upon which the. major wall 320i the upper plate 14 rests when the disk assembly is closed, as shown more particularly in Figures 1 and 2. v

A yieldable means is provided for keeping the disks assembled and for allowing them to move relative to each other and open for the discharge of fluid in response to hydrostatic pressure built up in the chamber 40 as the disk assembly is rotated and. fluidfis delivered to the chamber. A preferred yieldable means comprises at least one headed bolt44 which extends through the plates, the threaded end of the bolt receiving a nut 46 and washer 48 serving as a stop. A coil spring 50 is wound about the bolt and 1s interposed between the. major wall 32 of the upper plate 14 and the stop, as shown clearly in Figure. 1.. The. spring is sotensioned as to keep the upper and lower plates normally in. the closed position. when the disk assembly is at rest, so. that the major wall 32 of the upper plate rests upon the ledge. or flange. 42 carried by the lower plate 30.

When the motor 24 is energized. and the diskassembly is rotated. via themeshing gears 22 and 28, the fluid entering the chamber 40'through the opening 18in the upper plate 14, swirls around creating suflicient hydrostatic pressure to compress the spring 50 and thereby cause the lower plate 30 to move relative to the upper plate to the point where the flange or ledge 42 of the lower plate becomes spaced from the major wall 32 of the upper plate, as shown clearly in Figures 3 and 4. In this condition the fluid in the chamber is centrifugally forced over the edge of the flange 42 as shown by the arrows in Figures 3 and 4 and the fluid is in position to be discharged from the disk assembly.

In the modification shown in Figures 1-3 at least one nozzle 52 is provided which is threaded into tapped holes in the depending peripheral wall 34 as at 54, the

' nozzle being a hollow cylinder member which is communicative with the chamber 40 and which has a restricted orifice 56 at its free end. In this modification, the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid in the chamber 40 causes the lower plate 30 to move away from the upper plate so that the peripheral edge 38 of the lower plate still abuts the inner surface of the depending peripheral wall 34 of the upper plate, as shown in Figure 3. In this position the fluid is centrifugally forced over the flange 42 and emerges through the nozzles 52 as a spray. When the device is assembled upon a fixed wing aircraft, the fluid emerging from the nozzles is cut into drop size particles by the passing air stream.

When desired, the nozzles 52 may be varied in length with pairs of the same length being disposed diametrically opposite each other on the depending peripheral wall 34. In this case the spray pattern will consist of a plurality of concentric circles. Also, the nozzles may be disposed of and the fluid may be made to emerge from a plurailty of holes in the depending peripheral wall 34.

In the modification shown in Figure 4 the tapped holes in the depending peripheral wall 34 are provided with plugs 58 and when the disk assembly is rotated, the lower plate 30 moves away from the upper plate 14 a sufficient distance so that the peripheral edge 38 of the lower liquid in being forced quickly to the ground in a well defined pattern.

While preferred modifications of the invention have been shown and described herein, it will be understood that a skilled artisan may make variations without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims. Thus the upper and lower plates of the 'disk assembly cannot only be flat but also substantially oval in 'shape. The disk assembly can also have a rounded or bowl shaped lower plate with a plurality of holes or nozzles for dispersing the fluid over a wide swathe. Also, while the drawing shows that the lower plate is moveable relative to the upper plate, the reverse is also possible and the flange 42 can, if desired, be associated with the upper rather than the lower plate.

In addition to the spray patterns which have already been described, namely the one which results from the modification of Figures 1-3 with and without difierent sized nozzles, the one which results from the modification of Figure 4 and the one which results from the perforated bowl it is possible to get a different spray pattern by modifying the device so that the depending peripheral wall 34-of' the upper plate of the disk assembly is'eliminated and the overall diameters of the upper and lower plates are'reduced sothat the edges of said plates are closely adjacent the upstanding flange 42.

I claim:

1. A centrifugal spray device comprising a disk including a pair of generally flat plates resiliently connected to each other in spaced face-to-face relationship to form a chamber therebetween, one of said plates extending peripherally beyond the other plate and having a peripheral perpendicular flange adapted to encompass said other plate, said other plate having its peripheral edge in "telescopically abutting relationship with the internal surface of the flange on said first-mentioned plate, said other plate having a perpendicular flange spaced inwardly from its periphery and extending in an opposite direction from the flange on said first-mentioned plate, said flange on said other plate being arranged to abut against the inner surface of said first-mentioned plate upon relative movement of said plates toward each other, said disk being mounted for rotation on an axial supporting means, conduit means opening into said chamber between said plates, said conduit means being connectable to a source of sprayable fluid, and outlet means in the peripheral area of said disk for ejecting fluid from said chamber under the action of centrifugal force.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein a yieldable means resiliently connects said plates, said yieldable means including at least one bolt extending through said plates and a spring under tension interposed between one of said plates and a stop on said bolt.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said outlet means comprises nozzles extending laterally from the flange of said first-mentioned plate.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said outlet means comprises a peripheral slot formed upon relative movement of said other plate away from said first-mentioned plate to a position wherein the peripheral edge of said other plate is spaced from the flange of said first-mentioned plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Rittenhouse July 24, 1956 

